Italy: Clarifications for the new standard refund process
From our last meeting with the Centro Operativo di Pescara (COP) of the Italian Tax Authorities (Agenzia delle Entrate), we have obtained the following clarifications with regard to the new standard refund process.
Power of Attorney from Final Beneficial Owner to Clearstream Banking
New requirement, effective immediately:
Each beneficial owner must provide a Power of Attorney to Clearstream Banking1 in order to allow the payments of refunds on the Clearstream Banking’s account and also to prevent the 10-years prescription of refunds according to art. 2943 of the Italian Civil Code.
- If the beneficial owner is a company, the Power of Attorney should be printed under the company’s letterhead.
- If the beneficial owner is an individual, a copy of the identity card of the beneficial owner must be attached to the Power of Attorney.
- The template (attached to this Announcement), which has been confirmed by the COP and cannot be amended, must be provided in the original with the first refund application and copies must be attached to all future applications.
- Any standard refund not including the Power of Attorney from Final Beneficial Owner to Clearstream Banking will be rejected.
Electronic signatures
We reconfirm that electronic signatures are not accepted. Any tax reclaim form that does not bear an original signature is considered by the COP to be a copy and is consequently rejected.
Italian Tax Identification Number (TIN)
The COP confirms that the Italian TIN is not mandatory for final beneficial owners and/or their legal representatives that are not Italian residents for tax purposes. However, the local TIN remains mandatory, as well as the required data and copies of ID cards of individual beneficial owners and/or their legal representatives.
Stamp of the company
To prove that the person signing the tax forms represents the final beneficial owner or its representative, being a legal entity, the company stamp must be provided next to the signature.
The cut-off on Mod 111
The refund of tax impacted by the change of rate from 12.5% to 20% (the 31 December 2011/1 January 2012 cut-off) must be reflected in the Mod 111 on two lines per event, as follows:
- The first line must contain the period of time from initial transaction/coupon payment until 31 December 2011 that has been taxed at 12.5%; and
- The second line must contain the period of time from 1 January 2012 until the sell/coupon payment that has been taxed at 20%.
In the Cover Letter, it must be explained that the two lines are linked to the same event.
New standard refund forms
The COP reconfirms that new tax refund forms have been prepared and are currently with the fiscal authorities in Rome for final review and approval. No confirmation has been received for the expected timeframe until the publication of these new forms.
The “classic” Power of Attorney
The COP reconfirms that the Power of Attorney submitted where the customer or a third party is completing the tax refund forms on behalf of the beneficial owner must be in Italian or in English. For any other language a translation is mandatory. Furthermore, it has also been reconfirmed that such Power of Attorney must be submitted in the original or as a notarised copy.
Credit Advice
The COP reconfirms the requirement to prove that the payment was made to the final beneficial owner. A Credit Advice must be submitted under each intermediary’s letterhead, duly signed and stamped.
Further information
For further information, please contact the Clearstream Banking Tax Help Desk on:
| Luxembourg | Frankfurt | |
| Email: | tax@clearstream.com | tax@clearstream.com |
| Telephone: | +352-243-32835 | +49-(0) 69-2 11-1 3821 |
| Fax: | +352-243-632835 | +49-(0) 69-2 11-61 3821 |
or Clearstream Banking Customer Service or your Relationship Officer.
1. Clearstream Banking refers collectively to Clearstream Banking AG, registered office at 61, Mergenthalerallee, 65760 Eschborn, Germany and registered in the Register B of the Amtsgericht Frankfurt am Main, Germany under number HRB 7500 (CBF) and Clearstream Banking, société anonyme, registered office at 42, avenue John F. Kennedy, L-1855 Luxembourg, and registered with the Luxembourg Register of Commerce and Companies under number B-9248 (CBL).
Note: This shall be a governing document as defined in CBL’s General Terms and Conditions as amended from time to time.
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